I slowly gained consciousness. My brain was on overdrive, but the rest of my body had yet to respond. Where was I? What just happened? Wherever I was, it was damp. My eyelids gradually opened, revealing my surroundings to me. It seemed to be somewhat forest like. Trees surrounded the area. I was in a small clearing surrounded by dense forests. The paralysis that had consumed me left my body slowly and I moved into a sitting position. I looked at my hands and was startled to see them covered in some sort of thick brown substance. Mud, I concluded, though I had never seen it in person. My eyes quickly scanned the world around me, picking up trees, small woodland creatures and even a nearby stream. My initial deduction was correct, I was in some type of forest. Though this merely answered setting, not necessarily the exact location.
I walked to the stream and washed the thick mud off of my hands. My clothing was equally dirty, but I wasn’t going to take the time to wash that off. I splashed the clear, cool water on my face in hopes that it would help me gain complete consciousness. I still felt groggy and lethargic. I closed my eyes and tried to get a better reading on where I was. I could hear machinery coming and going in the distance – occasionally with music. Cars, I imagined. I felt I must be close to some sort of civilization. There were many birds chirping higher up in the trees, acorns falling to earth, and even deer calls off in the distance. That was when a stick broke. It was much louder than the other sounds. Someone – or something – was nearby. I quietly ran away from the sound and crouched behind a small bush.
The steps grew louder. I watched, from my vantage point, as the thing walked into the small clearing. It was a man clad in all black. His face was indiscernible due to his oversized hood. He was like a shadow moving across the clearing. He crouched down next to the mud I had woken up in for a few minutes. He stuck his hands in and brought them close to his face. I was unsure of what he was doing, but I was sure he knew I had been here. Was he looking for me? He got up and walked slowly to the stream – in nearly the exact path I had used. He washed off his hands in the gurgling stream then stood and surveyed the entire area. His eyes lingered over my hiding place for just a little too long and I crouched deeper in the small bush. Did he know I was here? Should I run? He watched for a minute longer before turning on the spot and running in the complete opposite direction. I drew a breath of relief.
Who was he? What did he want from me? Nothing was making sense to me. I was in some foreign place for absolutely no reason I could discern. I wasn’t even entirely sure how I got here. In fact, there was a lot I couldn’t remember, except my name. I could remember my name. Cordelia Caelum. Other than that, there was little I could find when I searched my memory.
I waited about fifteen minutes before removing myself from the hideout. I examined the area – particularly the mud the man had disturbed when he searched the area. I was certain of little other than the fact that the man knew I was here. He may or may not know I am, but was not going to help me. My instincts were clear on that, and I thought it best to trust them when I was so unfamiliar with everything going on around me.
There was nothing of any importance I could discern, and so I moved back to the stream to splash my face once more before I left the clearing. I was unsure of where I was and where I was going, but I decided to follow the man in black. I needed to know what he was doing and where he came from. I regretted not carrying a container as I was without any drinking water. I was careful to stay far behind the man, because I knew if he found me nothing good would come of it...
* * *
When I awoke I was sweating profusely. My heart was pounding. That was the strangest and most vivid dream I had ever had. As I lay in bed, I wondered about the girl. I hadn’t seen the ending of the dream and I hoped that somehow she had been saved... I doubted it. There was nothing anybody could have done to have changed her fate. She had hit the ground, and she had died, whether or not I had witnessed it. Maybe there was still some sliver of hope... Oh, who was I kidding? This was a dream! It was nothing but pure fantasy. This girl’s existence went no further than my imagination – she lived and died only in my dreams, which could easily be changed. So I wrote a new ending. I smiled because I knew she had lived. It was my dream, my imagination, so why couldn’t she?
I pulled the covers off and scrambled to find some decent clothes. I found some clean-enough jeans thrown on the floor and grabbed a band t-shirt from my closet. I wasn’t ready to start school, but it wasn’t something I could avoid. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a granola bar – I didn’t have time to eat the pancakes my mom had made. She grimaced at me, but Naomi was already waiting.
She honked the horn twice as I threw on my shoes. She was so damn impatient... I grabbed my backpack and ran out the door. She smiled as I sat next to her.
“What took you so long?” she asked as I buckled in.
“You were waiting less than five minutes, Naomi.”
She glanced at me as she started the car.
“Don’t be a smartass,” she smiled. “Anyways, are you ready for our last year?”
“I don’t have much of a choice, do I? I don’t think it’ll be bad, but there are some things I’m worried about you know...” I drifted off.
Naomi and I had been friends since we were babies. Our moms had literally done Lamaze classes together. We were born one month apart, exactly. Since our birth – well, Naomi’s actually – we had done everything together: preschool, elementary school, high school , and even our swimming lessons. I was excited at the idea of moving away for university, but a life without Naomi was hard to imagine. She knew everything about me. She could even –
“Stop it, Xavier. I know what you’re thinking.”
...tell what I was thinking.
“You know you’re worried about it too.”
“Yes, but I know we’ve still got about a year before it becomes a real problem. Worry about your bio homework or which girl you’re gonna ask to prom.” She winked at me.
People got the wrong impression about us. We were just friends, and that would never change.
“Prom is way too far away to worry about. And I don’t even have bio homework yet.”
She smiled at me knowingly. “Whatever. See you at lunch.”
We went our separate ways and I headed for my locker. As I walked, my mind returned to my strange dream. There was something so different about it that made it seem more important than any of the other dreams I’d had lately. For some reason, this one meant something. I didn’t know what, but I knew I’d find out sooner or later.
I threw my backpack in my locker and began to rummage for my books. That’s when I felt someone breathing down my neck. I turned to find Brett Mechant standing directly behind me. He was trying to look menacing, and he was succeeding.
Brett had been tormenting me since I’d made the baseball team in grade 9. I was the youngest in years to make first string as a freshman. Now I was captain, and I don’t think Brett was too happy about that. He’d only made assistant captain and that had been a huge blow to his massive ego.
“What do you want?” I gave him a dull stare, hoping to show him I was bored of him and all of his antics.
“Just reminding you of my presence. Oh, and I wanted to tell you that I’ll be captain this year. I’ve been practicing all summer, you haven’t. You’re pathetic. You think you can get off on pure luck, but you can’t. This is my game, and this year it’ll be my team.” He Shoved me against the row of lockers, hard. “See you at tryouts!” he yelled as he walked down the hall.
What a dick, I thought. Whatever, I’d been practicing too. He’ll see that, though.
I grabbed my books and wandered off to class. Not only was the dream flooding my thoughts, but the seed of doubt Brett has planted in my mind was growing.
